Scott Gomez’s NHL career might end where it began. The forward has agreed to join the New Jersey Devils’ training camp on a tryout basis, per The Star-Ledger.

The Devils took him with the 27th overall pick in the 1998 NHL Entry and he quickly established himself as one of their best players as the Calder Trophy winner in 1999-2000. The Devils won the Stanley Cup that season and were champions again in 2003.

He left the Devils in the summer of 2007 though to sign a seven-year, $51.5 million contract with the New York Rangers. Although he remained effective in the first season of that deal, he began to quickly decline. The Montreal Canadiens took the brunt of his fall as they acquired him in 2009 in a trade that included then-prospect Ryan McDonagh going to New York.

Montreal bought out his contract following the lockout and he has most recently played for Florida where he scored two goals and 12 points in 48 games.

Although he’s still just 34 years old, there’s not a lot of demand for him given his decline.

“He felt he still had a lot of hockey in him and he’s been working out this summer so I told him to come to camp,” Lamoriello said. “There are no promises.”

The Devils already have 14 forwards signed to one-way contracts and some youngsters like Stefan Matteau looking to make the leap, so Gomez is far from a lock to make the team.

A product of the system. He played better in the NJD system because it amplified his strengths while avoiding his weaknesses. That’s what a great system does, goes for any sport and any offensive/defensive strategy.

Here’s to hoping Gomer can put it together – you gotta give the guy credit for keeping the dream alive, he never was the guy to put the puck in the net but he was always a beast at gaining the zone and dishing the biscuit.

I’m pulling for him, if he looks good and we end up moving a couple forwards I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to slot in as a 3rd line center to either Ryder or Brunner – he was never a goal scorer but the guy still dropped 30 assists in his last full season (and was on pace for about the same in 2012/13 as a Shark), that’s not terrible for a bottom 6 guy.

Hell, Sykora netted 20 for us after a tryout in 2011/12 – anything can happen.

zoojersey - Aug 28, 2014 at 7:51 PM

“the guy still dropped 30 assists…that’s not terrible for a bottom 6 guy”.

On the Devils, that would be a top six guy. You could go back 5 seasons and if you had 26-27 points, you are a top six forward, with the exception of the cup run season.

As crazy as it sounds, if he stays healthy, he would be a first or second liner on the Devs. That’s how ugly the Devs are up front.

Always liked Sykora. I still can’t believe, nor will I forgive, Deboer for pulling Sykora and replacing him with Josefson during our cup run. Terrible coaching decision.

I wish the guy luck. I think he showed in SJ that at this stage of his career and in the right situation, he can still be a useful depth forward.

I’ve changed my tune on Gomez. Once a poster child for overpaid, underperforming, bad-UFA signings, it wasn’t until it became such a cliche to hate on him that I realized it really he was low on the list of people to blame for his situation in MTL. It was NYR’s folly for signing him to such a massive contract for the type of player that he was at the time. He jumped the shark pretty quickly and shame on MTL for trading away part of their future and taking on such a massive salary for a guy that didn’t address any of their weeknesses.

The truth is, he would have had to string together several seasons of playing over his head to get out from under the shadow of McDonough and that terrible contract.